Dean Burcu Akinci
Burcu Akinci is the Dr. William D. and Nancy W. Strecker Dean of the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and Hamerschlag University Professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Source: Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering
Burcu Akinci, Dean of the College of Engineering and professor of civil and environmental engineering
Prior to becoming dean, Akinci served a head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), where she fostered a culture of collaboration among students, faculty, staff, alumni, and external partners, encouraging shared learning and the open exchange of ideas across all levels of the department. Through initiatives such as the alumni-to-student and Ph.D.-to-Ph.D. mentorship programs, as well as the Industry Partnership Program that connects students directly to opportunities at more than 20 leading engineering firms, she helped drive innovation by creating pipelines for meaningful engagement.
Under her leadership, the department also expanded its graduate offerings, including CEE’s first online certificate program, AI Engineering - Digital Twins & Analytics, and a new interdisciplinary master’s degree in the emerging field of civil and computer engineering.
Akinci has also served the college as associate dean for research for six years, driving institutional-level growth by helping to establish the “moonshot initiative” to cultivate large-scale research centers, developing the college’s strategic research direction, and increasing the value of new research awards.
Akinci’s research expertise lies at the intersection of computing and infrastructure management, employing data-capture and sensing technologies, digital twin models, to cutting-edge work making the built environment, facility operations, and construction projects smarter, safer, and more sustainable. In pioneering this nascent field, she has published more than 190 peer-reviewed papers, is an inventor on multiple patents, and co-founded a start-up company.
A member of the National Academy of Construction, distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Akinci was also named a University Professor in 2023, the highest rank of distinction for faculty at Carnegie Mellon.
Akinci began as a faculty member at CMU in 2000. She received her bachelor’s degree from Middle East Technical University, her MBA from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Stanford University.